Black Tie Mousse Cake

Instructions

1. LAYER 1 CAKE: Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl cream butter & sugar with a hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla & mix well. Sift cocoa & flour & add to mixture, until combined. Batter will be thick, but light & fluffy; not pourable, but easily spreadable.
3. Bake cake at 350*F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Remove from oven & cool completely; may even use the freezer to speed process along.
4. LAYER 2 NO BAKE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE: In a bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until incorporated. Add cocoa & blend well. Set aside.
5. In a stand mixer whisk heavy cream until it starts to get fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Whisk until stiff peaks are achieved. (**May do the whipped cream mixtures for both cheesecake layers together at the same time in your mixer & then divide in half evenly.)
6. Add whipped cream to the chocolate mixture & beat until well combined. Cover bowl & put in refrigerator.
7. LAYER 3 NO BAKE CHEESECAKE: In a bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until incorporated. Set aside.
8. In a stand mixer whisk heavy cream until it starts to get fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Whisk until stiff peaks are achieved. (**This step may have already been done if you did it the same time as the whipped cream for the chocolate cheesecake.)
9. Add whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture & beat until well combined. Cover bowl & put in refrigerator.
10. ASSEMBLE FIRST 3 LAYERS: Once cake is cooled you may run a knife along the edges & release the spring-form edge to help ensure it's ability to release after all the layers are complete. If you release the edge, put the edge back on & then continue with the layers.
11. Spread the chocolate cheesecake mixture evenly over the cooled chocolate cake.
12. Spread the plain cheesecake mixture evenly over the chocolate cheesecake mixture.
13. Cover pan with saran wrap (try not to let it touch the cheesecake) & freeze for 4-6 hours in the freezer.
14. After the cake is frozen. Use a warm offset spatula to run along the edge of the pan & remove the spring-form edge. (Keep cake on the base.)
15. GANACHES: Put dark & white chocolate chips in separate bowls.
16. In a small saucepan on LOW, heat heavy cream & butter until it just comes to a boil.
17. Measure 3-4 Tbsp of the cream/butter mixture & put it on top of the white chocolate chips. Pour remaining butter/cream mixture over the dark chocolate chips. Let cream melt chocolate chips & then stir them up in their separate bowls. Let the ganache cool slightly until spreading consistency.
18. Using a cooling rack placed on a cookie sheet, set cake on cooling rack (the ganache that falls off the cake will be caught in the cookie sheet, underneath the cooling rack) & pour dark chocolate ganache over the top of the cake; spread evenly with an offset spatula.
19. When the chocolate drips over the edges, smooth the ganache with your spatula & immediately apply mini chocolate chips to the sides before the ganache hardens from the frozen cake. Continue around all sides of the cake saving extra dark chocolate ganache to swirl with the white ganache on top & enough to pipe a border for the edges.
20. Once the cake is ganached & chocolate chips decorate the sides, drizzle the white chocolate ganache on the top. Add small dollups of dark chocolate ganache (saving enough to pipe a border on the edges) & using a toothpick/knife swirl the two ganaches together.
21. Use the remaining dark chocolate ganache to pipe a border around the edge, once the ganache has set/thickened a little bit, but still soft enough to work with.
22. Store cake in freezer. Cut & enjoy cake frozen.